A Dog's Best Friend
by RisingStorm15
Summary: Athos, Aramis and Porthos are the three best detectives in the CIA, but when Athos's new partner turns out to be an excitable German Shepherd puppy named D'artagnan, it'll take the inseparables on a wild adventure. Tasked with chasing down the infamous terorist cult, The Red Guard, how will the brothers and their furry friend catch the infamous Cardinal?
1. Big Brown Eyes

When Athos first saw the puppy, all he could think was, _Oh dear Lord, there's been a terrible mistake!_

A black and tan fluff ball was being lead by a short lead towards him, the small paws bounding along the floorboards excitedly, and a pink tongue lolling with happiness. Athos made a mistake at creating eye contact with the bouncing youngster, as it immediately fixed eyes on him and strained at the lead, yipping excitedly.

With a small laugh, Dan, the officer in charge of the dog kennels at K9 Unit headquarters let the puppy loose and watched as it dashed straight at a wide eyed Athos.

With uncertain hands he bent down and scooped up the yipping puppy, his view of the room obscured by a furry, frankly adorable face complete with the biggest brown eyes he'd ever seen.

" It seems your new partner has taken a liking to you, Athos, can't imagine why" Dan joked, amused at the adorable sight of Athos's face being covered in frantic licks.

Athos scowled in his direction, only causing Dan to smile with more mirth.

" Does my partner have a name?" Athos ground out, being careful to make sure the doggy tongue didn't end up in his mouth accidentally.

" His name is D'artagnan," Dan filled in.

Athos raised an eyebrow in his direction, pulling the puppy away from his face so he could get a better look at him.

" What in the world did he do to deserve such a name?" Athos inquired, casting his eyes over the squirming ball of fur who was gazing at him just as curiously.

Dan chuckled aloud, his deep laugh reverberating through the room and causing many of the canine residents to raise their heads curiously.

" I think the Shepherd breeders were having a laugh, though it is quite a mouthful, isn't it," Dan assumed, gesturing to the strangely named pup.

D'artagnan barked happily at the attention, and snuggled his head in to the warm crook of Athos's neck, settling after his moment of excitement.

" Has he been through the mandatory training?" Athos inquired.

He would never allow the puppy on mission with his friends if he hadn't been fully trained.

" That puppy excelled in every part of training, he's being released to you at such a young age because he went through the training so well and so quickly. I think you'll find that he will settle in with your team perfectly," Dan praised, ruffling D'artagnan's ears affectionately.

Dan had seen many dogs go through training, Athos knew the young sergeant enjoyed getting to know each and every individual dog, and very time he sent one off in to the field it was a bitter sweet moment. He was an excellent judge of animal character, and if he thought D'artagnan was a worthy partner, then Athos was prepared to trust him.

" I understand that you were ordered by Treville to keep D'artagnan at the house, sounds like you'll have fun! However I do have one word of warning for you, he likes to tackle people, that might be a problem for you when he grows bigger," Dan confided, eyes brimming with amusement.

Athos thanked the man and left, the puppy now snuggled in to his jacket contentedly.

 _A crazy puppy that tackles people? What ever did I do to deserve this…_

Aramis and Porthos had lost it when they first laid eyes on the adorable puppy currently curled up sleeping Athos's lap.

Athos had come home and quickly discovered that D'artagnan was a bundle of energy, in the end he'd flopped on the couch and let the dog tire himself out. After reading a few case files, D'artagnan, now sufficiently tired out, had joined him and promptly taken up a position on Athos's lap.

He had no clue why the dog felt so at home with him after being entrusted in his care for only a few hours, but apparently D'artagnan was besotted with his new master.

Looking at him closely now, Athos realized that D'artagnan was quite a good looking dog, with silky, downy fur, comically big ears that were much too large for a face so small, a largely black body with tan underbelly and chest fur, and a very strange white spot on his chest that fitted his oddball nature.

The dog was content to lie still and quiet on his lap, and after a while his warm breaths had evened out in to sleep. As much as he hated to admit it, the puppy was actually quite adorable.

His peaceful moment was shattered by raucous laughter from the entrance to the living room. He knew exactly who the laughter belonged to.

" Well isn't that just a sight to see," A deep voice chuckled, causing Athos to look up and scowl in the direction of his two friends subsequent housemates.

" Who knew Athos was a dog person?" A jovial voice added to the first, setting off that deep laughter a second time.

" I wouldn't laugh so loudly if I were you, this dog is your new partner and housemate! If you wake him up you have to deal with him," Athos grumbled, clearly unhappy at being caught at such an affectionate moment.

Porthos and Aramis snickered quietly and made their way over, expressions softening at the sight of the sleeping puppy.

" Awww, cute little whelp isn't he, Aramis, what's his name?" Porthos cooed.

Athos rolled his eyes at his big hearted friend.

" His name is D'artagnan," Athos informed crisply.

With a sudden burst of energy, D'artagnan was on his feet, as if his name had triggered a sudden alertness. The puppy took one look at the two strange men in the room and began to growl threateningly, hackles raising and pearly teeth bared, his rumbling growl much too deep for such a small thing.

" Awww, he's cute when he's angry! It's okay little fella, we're your partners!" Aramis soothed happily, reaching out a hand to pat the small puppy.

It was a testament to his training that Aramis was able to pull away so quickly, when a lightning fast bite was sent towards his outstretched hand. With a yelp the young man evaded the bit and cast surprised eyes at the still growling puppy.

Athos, not one to see his friends in danger and allow for bad habits to be made, sent a gentle but stinging tap to his dog's sensitive muzzle, causing d'artagnan to shy away and scamper behind the couch with a small whimper of pain.

Porthos glared at Athos accusingly.

" You hurt the poor thing!" Porthos growled, causing Athos to stare at him with an offended expression.

" The dog has to learn not to bite his comrades!" Athos growled back firmly.

Aramis raised an eyebrow at him, having deposited his hat on the coffee table.

" He doesn't know we're his comrades yet, he was protecting you by biting the strangers!" Aramis pointed out snidely.

Athos blinked in surprise, guilt adorning his face suddenly. With a small grimace he moved off the couch and crouched to the ground, peering around the corner of his seat to see D'artagnan huddled behind the seat with wide, confused brown eyes, little body hunched in on itself and shaking like a leaf.

At once Athos found himself feeling like a terrible person, _ugh, how could this tiny puppy make me feel so awful!_

Reaching out a hand he gently scooped the shivering puppy in to his arms, apologetic eyes gazing down at the furball.

" I'm sorry for hurting you D'artagnan, I see now that you were only doing your job, you're a good boy," Athos murmured gently, using his free hand to stroke the quivering puppy's soft head.

D'artagnan let out a small bark and curled in to Athos's embrace, casting big brown eyes at the two strangers still in the room, unsure why his master wasn't doing anything about them.

Keeping up his soothing patting motion, Athos walked up to Porthos and Aramis and let D'artagnan sniff around the two men warily, only feeling the puppy settle when he had not smelt anything dangerous on them.

" See, we're friends little one! I'm Porthos, this is Aramis, and we promise we won't be hurting Athos," Porthos introduced, hesitantly reaching out pat the small puppy.

Realising that his master was happy in the company of the strangers, D'artagnan let the two of them pat him slowly, and even licked Aramis's hand apologetically.

" I can see that you'll fit in perfectly," Aramis chirped with a grin on his face, ruffling the pup's hair and causing an almost annoyed look to cross D'artagnan's face.

Porthos smirked at the sight, it was clear that with D'artagnan staying round for the foreseeable future, things were going to get interesting.


	2. Strange Habits

In the first few days of living with a puppy in the household, it became clear to the young detectives that life would take some adjusting to, and their separate habits would take a while to get used to.

One such habit was apparently becoming unbreakable, D'artagnan's new insistence of sleeping in the bed beside Athos. 

Athos sighed as he exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, intending to get in to a clean set of pajamas and sleep for an eternity. His first night with D'artagnan living in the household was drawing to a close, and it was definitely time to get some sleep before he was up and working again.

Taking a tired step in to his room he paused in the doorway, a disbelieving frown on his lightly bearded face.

" No, absolutely not! Get off the bed you pup!" Athos ordered, pointing to the spot on the carpet where Porthos had happily placed D'artagnan's temporary bed, an old blanket of his.

D'artagnan was stretched out on Athos's bed, blinking lazily up at his new master with a confused look on his small face. His brown eyes followed his master's finger to the blanket and with a small sigh he stood, leaping off the bed so he could sit on the blanket being pointed out to him.

" That's better," Athos muttered, traipsing to his wardrobe now that that little situation was taken care of.

 _He may be cute, but there is no way that he is getting half of my bed! He probably has fleas._

Picking up his well-worn pair of pajama pants, he quickly changed and turned, about to get in to his invitingly soft bed.

His eyes widened comically when he gazed at the sight before him.

D'artagnan was yet again on his bed, this time curled up on Athos's side of the bed, tongue lolling out happily as he watched his master's every move.

" No! I told you already you mutt, I sleep there, you sleep here!" Athos stated in exasperation, pointing yet again at the old blanket on the floor.

D'artagnan hopped off the bed and dashed to sit on the blanket, gazing up at him with the innocence that only a dog could pull off.

" Good, now stay there," Athos muttered, getting in to bed quickly.

He switched off the bedside lamp, the hallway lights softly lighting up the darkness as they waited to be switched off by his housemates who usually stayed up later than he did.

He was on the verge of sleep when he felt the other side of the bed dip under a sudden weight, and a warm breath beginning to his the back of his neck. Not even bothering to open his eyes, knowing they'd only be met with the sight of a canine face barely three centimeters from his own.

" D'artagnan, you aren't going to sleep on the blanket are you?" Athos asked in a disgruntled tone.

A furry body pressing it's back against his chest was all the answer he needed, and with a weary sigh he placed a hand on the furry body beside him, earning him a small whine of appreciation.

" Fine, but don't you dare shed," Athos warned affectionately, before his thoughts dimmed and he fell in to a deep sleep, unaware of the two smirking faces watching him with barely muffled laughter.

Aramis pulled out his phone and snuck a picture, _Oh this is so going to be blackmail…_

From then on, D'artagnan slept on Athos's bed, more often then not he would be found sleeping as close to his master as possible, and while Athos may have grumbled at first, he found himself secretly loving the arrangement.

One habit of his master's that D'artagnan did not understand was the frequent use of a black drink known as coffee.

D'artagnan lay on the kitchen tiles, drooping eyes observing his three masters as they bustled around the kitchen in a slow haze. After being awoken to collect a criminal from the LAPD that was required for CIA questioning, Athos and his friends had taken D'artagnan with them on the lengthy night mission.

When arrived home early in the morning, they'd all been lethargic and listless.

D'artagnan had watched them grumble noncommittally and make their way to the kitchen and he'd followed, hoping that he'd be fed a morsel from their breakfast. No such luck.

Apparently they weren't eating just yet, but to his fascination he watched his masters each begin to consume a dark drink, sighing in appreciation.

D'artagnan licked his lips. _Whatever my masters like, I like, what is this strange drink? It isn't water… Why do they suddenly seem so alive after drinking it?_

Seeking answers to his queries, D'artagnan ambled over to Athos and nudged his knee, causing the loving man to gaze down at him questioningly. D'artagnan whined hopefully, gazing at the drink he held in his warm hands.

His other masters laughed loudly, causing D'artagnan to be even more confused.

Why were they laughing at him?

" I'm sorry D'artagnan, but you can't drink this, coffee is bad for dogs," His master stated calmly, fondling my ears with affection.

With a small sigh, D'artagnan trod back to his spot with dejection, slumping back to the floor with sad eyes.

A moment later, a treat placed before his nose caused him to perk up and he instantly forgot his former annoyance, lapping it up appreciatively, ears perked again.

Another round of laughter confused him even more. _Strange humans and their strange drinks…._

Dan had been correct in his warnings. Athos should have seen it coming sooner, what with the amount of people who would frequently turn up at his house. Fellow detectives, officers from the LAPD, friends from Porthos's childhood, suitors for Aramis, even his own boss, all of which were promptly tackled by a very protective, highly trained German Shepherd who still had no idea that yes, these people were allowed in Athos's house.

No matter how hard he tried, Athos could not seem to be able to break D'artagnan's habit of tackling newcomers to his house.

The whole house had been cleaned faster than it had ever been. None of its occupants had expected a call from Treville, their boss had decided to come and pick up their case files in person, and had given them a half an hour warning, prompting the young men and one very intrigued puppy to clean the house faster than ever before.

Smoothing down their clothes hurriedly, all three detectives waited tensely for the knock to sound from their cedar door.

 _Knock, Knock, Knock._

"You answer it, Athos, he likes you more," Aramis urged, shoving his friend in the direction of the front door.

With a small glare, Athos took charge and marched to the front door, not noticing the small puppy who was following him warily.

Opening the door hesitantly, he was greeted with the stern face of his immediate boss, who'd expressionless face wasn't any less threatening without his usual uniform to match.

" Good evening Athos," Treville greeted evenly.

" Good evening sir," Athos greeted back quickly, and stepped back to make room for his captain.

Treville took three steps in to the hallway beyond before D'artagnan made his move.

With a mall grunt, Treville was hit with a surprising amount of force, crashing to the floorboards out of sheer surprise more than anything.

Laying on his back, body groaning from the unwanted movement, his vision was suddenly obscured by the snarling and not the least threatening face of a German Shepherd puppy.

" D'ARTAGNAN!" Athos yelled angrily, pulling the dog off of his boss by the collar.

Treville regained his feet to see his second in command holding tightly to the pup's collar as the little dog growled ferociously at him.

" I'm so sorry sir, he does that to everyone at this age!" Athos apologized, clearly flustered by his puppy's actions.

D'artagnan whimpered when Athos glared at him firmly cowering down to the floor with shaking legs, eyes wide at his master's sudden anger.

With a small apologetic expression, Athos knelt down so he could be face to face with his dog,

" Sorry I raised my voice at you D'art, but you know you can't tackle strangers without probable cause, especially our boss! Go play with Porthos and Aramis while I talk," Athos murmured soothingly.

D'artagnan licked his master's face hesitantly before dashing off to find his two human playmates.

" It seems I made a good decision to place him with you, Athos. Though I do advise you retrain him against tackling his superior officers," Treville chuckled, causing Athos's worried expression to melt in to one of relief.

" Yes sir," He murmured confidently. 

It would take some time, but eventually they would learn to embrace each other's unique habits, strange as they may be. It would take a while for Athos to get used to sharing a bed, and for D'artagnan to get used to watching his masters consume coffee without envy, but they worked it out. One habit however, wasn't to be broken so easily, and there came a night when Athos thanked the heavens that D'artagnan was good at tackling intruders.


	3. Intruder

Intruder

" That movie was so inaccurate it was borderline ridiculous," Porthos commented dejectedly.

" I know, but you have to admit, it was kind of funny!" Aramis chuckled, eyes lighted up with mirth.

Athos rolled his eyes at the antics of his friends.

" That being said, we must get home soon or I believe our furry friend will fret," Athos reminded them.

Immediately the jovial mood died down some, and they trekked through the cold night air towards their house. When it came to D'artagnan, Athos's word was law. After staying out late to watch a new movie about a rogue CIA operative taking down terrorist cells, the inseparables were more than ready to reach home and a beer.

Athos had felt incredibly guilty leaving D'artagnan, who had been terribly confused when they left him at home after work and went out again. His confused whimpers had made him want to turn around and go back.

The cinema was only a few blocks from their home, and despite his anxiety over D'artagnan's welfare, the walk was enjoyable and the company of his best friends even more so.

With moods high and smiles wide, none could have anticipated the scene they would arrive home to.

One hour earlier:

 _D'artagnan sighed deeply his exhale of warm air tickling the sensitive hairs on his paws. With his head on his forelegs, he waited for his masters to arrive home again._

 _The house, long since dark, was silent and foreboding to a pup like D'artagnan, who had opted to wait in the kitchen for his masters, who would undoubtedly come to the communal rooms when they first returned home._

 _Why had they left?_

 _He had no answer, but he had faith that his masters would return soon as they didn't often venture out at night._

 _The sound of the sizable lock on the front door unlocking caused his ears to perk up and his tail to wag swiftly._

 _The door opened silently, and from his vantage point, he saw a tall silhouette make its way in to the hallway without a sound. With his higher levels of eyesight, he could see a vague shape moving around in the dark, scanning the room cautiously before pulling open drawers and rifling through cabinets._

 _This was NOT one of his masters._

 _When Porthos would come home, he would be louder than a bear on a rampage, kicking off his boots with a sigh of relief and instantly going to his room for a shower._

 _When Aramis came home, he would hang up his customary hat and ruffle D'artagnan's ears before heading off to join Porthos._

 _Athos would NEVER come home without instantly calling for D'artagnan and giving him a friendly greeting and a treat if he had any on him._

 _Whoever this man was, he was not meant to be there, and instantly his hair was on end and his lips were pulling back from gleaming white teeth._

 _He slunk silently towards the figure, his largely black coat keeping him easily concealed, and even though Athos had told him not to tackle strangers without reason, this man was not supposed to be here!_

 _D'artagnan had been taught to make no sound as he crept towards his target, though the temptation to growl was strong and he almost gave in._

 _Squatting down, hind legs bunching in anticipation he noticed happily that the man had not noticed his presence yet._

 _He leapt, springing up from the ground in a high leap and taking the man to the ground with a shout of surprise. Vague moonlight glittered off a sharp metallic object that he knew meant danger from his academy days, and he growled deeply, latching his teeth in to the back of the man's neck._

 _The man was strong, and he twisted out from under him with a raucous cry of " What the hell?!"_

 _D'artagnan, losing his grip, managed to leap on to the man's chest and latch on to a waving arm, biting deeply through flesh until blood filled his mouth and bone slid beneath his pearly teeth._

 _Fury reigned within him and he used all his training to stay latched on to the arm, even when the criminal got to his feet and tried to unlatch his jaws with shouts of pain leaving his throat._

 _D'artagnan was flung around as the intruder tried to dislodge him, but he kept his grip dutifully._

 _He would NOT fail his loving masters._

 _With a cry of rage, the man managed to connect the dangerous metal weapon with the side of the pup's head, and D'artagnan's world exploded in pain._

 _The man's elbow cracked down hard on the back of D'artagnan's neck, better known as his scruff._

 _Instantly, memories of pain and terror filled D'artagnan's mind and he bit down all the harder. No human would ever hurt him there again as long as he lived._

 _The bone gave way under his teeth, causing the man to howl even louder, his flailing reaching an all-time climax._

 _The man's arched his neck backwards in pain, and in the dark; D'artagnan heard a thud as it connected with the plate cabinet above._

 _With a small gasp, the intruder fell, causing D'artagnan to hit the floor hard and finally relinquish his grip. He waited tensely for the man to move, but he wouldn't even flinch, and with a small whine of pain, D'artagnan sank down next to him, the pain in his head making him dizzy, and causing the world around him to spin sickeningly._

 _He whimpered painfully, and rested his head on his paws, staring at the man unconscious next to him, refusing to take his eyes off of him for even a moment._

 _He would not fail his masters, even if he was hurting._

 _Athos needed him._

After their enjoyable but long walk home, it was a relief to see their comforting house appear down the street. With small grumbles of relief, they drew up to their front steps, with Athos in the lead as he prepared to unlock the door.

Pausing at the top step, his eyes widened and he froze with fear.

" Someone's in our house," Athos stated lowly.

Porthos and Aramis growled softly, and gazed at the slightly ajar front door with trepidation.

" What about D'artagnan?" Aramis hissed, knowing that the dog was inside and had likely confronted the intruder.

" We must assume he's been compromised, we scope out every room, be prepared for a fight as soon as I flick on the light," Athos ordered tersely.

With small nods of agreement to his plan, Athos lead the way silently through the door, and with a small moment of anxious fear for his pup, he flicked on the lights and crouched, ready to fight anyone who would come barreling towards him.

When his eyes adjusted to the lights, the sight that greeted him at the end of the hallway was on he would never forget.

There was a man laying motionless on the floor, blinked dripping from a wound on his arm and slicking across the tiles. He appeared to be unconscious, and D'artagnan was obviously the cause of his current state judging by the visible bite marks in his black clothing.

D'artagnan himself was standing beside the man's body, facing them with a snarl, hackles raised and teeth bared. He growled deeply despite his size, putting Athos's worry up a notch.

" Good boy D'artagnan, it's okay now," Athos murmured soothingly.

The dog was obviously frightened, but what scared Athos the most was that the dog's only reaction to his voice was to take a threatening step forwards, still growling deeply.

" Why ain't he standing down?" Porthos whispered worriedly.

Athos shook his head confusedly.

" I don't know,"

Aramis put a hand on Athos's arm, fury lighting up his usually jovial eyes.

" He's been hit in the head, Athos, look at the blood on his fur, I doubt he knows who we are," Aramis murmured, pointing to the side of D'artagnan's head where blood slicked down his fur and clumped it in some places.

" So he's confused," Athos deducted, relieved at finding the reason behind D'artagnan's sudden reaction.

Aramis's nod was all he needed before he slid in to a crouch, staring in to D'artagnan's eyes from across the room.

" Hey there D'artagnan, you did good, you can stand down now," Athos murmured soothingly, keeping his voice low and quiet.

His friends followed his example, and D'artagnan stared at them in confusion, obviously wondering why the new intruders were now sitting on the floor.

Seeing that the pup had not reacted badly to their new tactic, Athos tried something else, and nickname that only he would ever call the dog, hoping it would spark his memory.

" Come on D'art, you know me, it's Athos," Athos placated, holding a hand out in the dog's direction.

D'artagnan's growling cut off at the sound of his nickname, and at the name of his master that he loved the most out of any person in the world he stood down, hackles lowering and the confusion in his eyes seeming to clear some.

His masters were home. He was safe now.

With a small whimper of pain and confusion at the blurred shapes before him that he now knew to be friends, he staggered towards them.

Athos felt himself heating up in anger at the sight of his puppy trying to get over to them, and stumbling slightly as he tried to walk in a straight line. When D'artagnan finally reached him the puppy licked his outstretched hand as if apologizing for growling at them.

Athos patted his lap, inviting the puppy to curl up on his crossed legs despite the German Shepherd rapidly growing too big to do so.

D'artagnan curled up panting in his lap, obviously grateful to be seated again since his world was still blurry and confusing.

Without the snarling dog guarding the unconscious man, Porthos stood to cuff him and call Treville to let him know about the intrusion. With the mission files they hid in their home, it was clear that this was no ordinary thief.

While he did so, Athos stroked D'artagnan's fur soothingly, waiting for Aramis to return. The medic had raced to retrieve his first aid kit which was hospital grade and much better than a normal kit. From the way D'artagnan had curled up, Athos and Aramis had gotten a clear view of the wound to D'artagnan's head.

A long sluggishly bleeding cut wound down the side of his head, narrowly missing his eye. The same swipe had undoubtedly been the cause of the rather large nick missing from D'artagnan's ear.

His pup whimpered softly when Athos tried to get a closer look, and he gently shushed the animal, it was clear that D'artagnan was exhausted and in pain, and the last thing he wanted was for his wound to be touched.

Aramis returned, setting his kit down beside them and with one glance at the tiredly whimpering pup his medical training kicked in to high gear.

" Hold him still Athos, I'm going to give him some sedative to calm him down," Aramis advised, kneeling next to his leader with a small needle in hand.

Athos nodded tensely hand kept his strong hands bracing D'artagnan against his chest as Aramis quickly stuck the needle, causing D'artagnan to whine with pain, confused by the sudden sharp sensation.

Athos waited until Aramis had slid the needle out, having given D'artagnan half the usual amount a person would need, before stroking his pup's fur soothingly.

" Good boy D'art," Athos murmured.

D'artagnan licked his hand in response before his big brown eyes started to droop and he let out a small sigh before his eyes closed all the way and the tension in his body eased out.

" Will he be okay?" Athos asked Aramis hopefully.

The sharpshooter and medic was checking over the cut with expert hands.

" It's not deep enough to be stitched, but I'll cover it with some bandages and clean it with antiseptic so it won't get infected. There's nothing I can do about that ear, he's going to have an impressive chunk missing out of it for the rest of his life," Aramis reported.

Athos let out a sigh of relief knowing his partner would be okay, knowing that with the sedative his pup would sleep peacefully through the cleaning and bandaging, he left Aramis to do so while he made his way over to Porthos.

" He's a Red Guard, Athos, got the patch and everything," Porthos growled, pointing out the red patch of fabric on the man's shoulder.

" They know we're on to them," Athos muttered angrily.

 _Damn those Red Guards, next time I come across them they'll pay for what they did to D'artagnan._


	4. Donor

It started off as a routine collection mission, get in, get the informant and get out again. Porthos had integrated himself in with the crowd at the bank, watching the middle aged informant for the red guards as he chatted amiably with a friend. Aramis was laying on a rooftop, sniper in hand in case things got ugly, eyes constantly roaming the streets below.

Athos was crouched beside his fellow canine unit member, Dupaine, and his older German shepherd, Pierre.

D'artagnan stood beside him, big eyes alert and scanning as he sniffed periodically, the only sign of his true excitement at being out was the small wag of his tail.

Athos was slowly petting his pup's head as he waited for his radio to sound out Porthos' orders as his friend's job was to watch for the perfect moment for take down.

Ever since the break in at his house Athos had seen a rise in red guard activity and he and his friends had been busy rounding them up lately in the hopes of tracking down their famed leader, only referred to as ' the Cardinal'.

His radio crackled to life and Porthos' voice broke the silence.

" He's leaving, going to a nearby alleyway, time to move out. Aramis do you have him in your sights?" Porthos informed, addressing his Latino friend as he did so.

Aramis' light tone answered over his own radio.

" Of course I do, my friend, now Athos, Dupaine, please get your dogs in there so we can get this over with," Aramis murmured, the sounds of his rifle prepping filling the background.

Athos stood alongside his comrade, feeling D'artagnan go tense and stiff beneath his hands as he sensed the seriousness of the situation.

"Affirmative, moving out now," Dupaine murmured in to his own radio.

Standing from their crouch, Athos and Dupaine, clutching tight to the leads of their dogs crept slowly towards the alley that Aramis was directing them too. D'artagnan was thrumming with energy at the end of his lead, excitement clear in his eyes. Thankfully he knew better than to play up while on duty and awaited his master's orders.

" He's at the end of the alley, unleash the dogs and proceed with caution," Aramis ordered as he stared down his gun-sight at the situation below, finger resting on the trigger.

Athos and Dupaine instantly unclipped the leashes from their dogs, giving them the signal to rush at the informant, whilst they spun around the corner with guns in hand.

The sight that met their eyes instantly had them running, caution forgotten.

The dogs were almost upon the informant, teeth bared and snarling threateningly as the slowly inched towards him, their mad rush forgotten. Seeing the reason for this Athos immediately addressed his radio.

" The informant has a gun, I repeat, the informant has a gun!" He informed rapidly, hearing twin swears over the radio as a result.

" Marc Penche! Put down your gun!" Dupaine yelled as he and Athos closed ranks.

The informant startled and obviously unaccustomed to holding a gun, shakily redirected it at the approaching law officers.

" I will shoot!" He threatened shakily, eyes wide and panicked.

Obviously he had not expected to be challenged and was not used to combat, which only made things worse. A flighty and panicked opposition was a dangerous one.

Sensing the new danger to their masters, the dogs crept forward again, barking harshly to redirect the man's attention and hopefully give their masters time to take him down.

With a yelp of fear, the gun was leveled at the approaching dogs.

"S-stay back!" he cried out, shaking the gun in their direction.

Athos realised what would happen a moment before the gun discharged and Pierre let out a short bark of pain, falling to the cement as the close range shot penetrated in to his thigh where hi protective vest would not protect him.

D'artagnan let out a snarl of rage and leapt, clearing the gun and impacting with the informant, sending him screaming to the pavement, eyes blown wide at having actually shot an animal.

" Pierre!" Dupaine cried out, instantly rushing to his canine partner's aid when D'artagnan tackled their suspect.

Athos sprinted over, pulling out his handcuffs as he went. D'artagnan barked ferociously in Marc's face whilst the man stared up at the dog and shouted for help.

" Stand down," Athos ordered quietly.

Ears perking up at the order, D'artagnan stepped off of his target and stood threateningly to the side whilst his master handcuffed their crying target.

" Marc Penche, you are accused of conspiring and selling information to the red guard terrorist group, animal cruelty and resisting arrest, anything you say may be used against you in court," Athos growled, clicking the cuffs together and hauling the sobbing man to his feet.

Porthos and Aramis, having rushed over after realizing what had happened, were crouched beside a frantic Dupaine, whose hands were pressed against Pierre's twitching hind leg.

D'artagnan and Athos trotted over worriedly, the pup giving the older shepherd a small lick to the ears.

Pierre whined softly at the action as his blood slicked fur was pressed upon by his master's shaking hands.

" Dupaine, press this against the wound, I've rung ahead and the garrison's vet clinic is awaiting our arrival," Aramis ordered, swiftly unrolling one of the bandage packages he always kept in his belt.

Nodding shakily, Dupaine pressed it against the wound, eliciting another small whine from the now panting Pierre.

A screech of tires heralded Porthos' return as the big man pulled up at the entrance of the alleyway, obviously having run to collect their vehicle.

" Let's get him home," Dupaine murmured softly.

The ride to the garrison was frantic, with Dupaine keeping pressure on the gaping wound and Porthos driving over the speed limit, sirens blaring at full blast to clear pedestrians and traffic. D'artagnan sat cuddled in Athos' lap despite being almost too big to do so now, and watched the proceedings, whimpering softly at every pained whine from his friend.

Athos stroked his head soothingly, running a calming hand through his dark fur. Aramis was conversing with the garrison head vet, Doctor Lemay, and rattling off a list of symptoms and injuries.

Covering his mobile, he turned to face the back seat.

" Keep that pressure up, Dupaine, we're two minutes out and Lemay will be waiting to help us get Pierre in to operations," Aramis informed, dark eyes worried.

He paused then, face creasing in indecision before he faced Athos with worried eyes.

" Athos…they don't have enough blood reserves to replace what Pierre has lost, one of the other handlers used most of it when their shepherd was brought in last week. They need D'artagnan for a transfusion," Aramis explained, causing his friend to tense up.

D'artagnan, oblivious to the babbled words his masters spoke pricked his ears up at the mention of his name, eyes staring up at his master imploringly. Athos glanced down at him with a small smile, sending D'artagnan's tail wagging.

" Tell Lemay D'artagnan will do it," Athos ordered.

Aramis nodded and relayed the information immediately to the vet on the other end of the line.

With a screech of tires and a sharp turn they were pulling to a jarring halt outside of the garrison and helping Dupaine cart his partner through the front doors to the back of the building where the vets were located.

D'artagnan loped alongside his master as they jogged in to the clinic to be met by Lemay and a few of his head nurses.

"Quickly," The doctor ordered, gesturing in to the closest operation room where Pierre was quickly laid on his side on top of the towel covered table.

The older dog whimpered slightly when his leg was jarred, only soothed by Dupaine's soothing murmurs.

" Get D'artagnan on the other table and get him lying down," Lemay called whilst rolling over IV stands ands his tool cart.

Athos and Porthos instantly bent down and together they hauled a startled D'artagnan off his feet and up on to the high table.

D'artagnan let out a yelp of surprise at the sudden change of altitude, confusion clear in his brown eyes as he stared up at his stressed master.

Tapping the edge of the table, Athos gestured quickly for D'artagnan to lay down. Confused but unwilling to defy his master, D'artagnan dropped on to his belly, sniffing the clogging scent of blood in the room worriedly.

Scratching his ears softly, Athos began murmuring to him, words D'artagnan could not understand but words that carried a soothing undertone.

" Athos, Porthos, keep him still while I insert the transfusion tube," Lemay ordered, walking over with what appeared to be a large needle attached to clear rubber tubing.

The other end was attached to the IV inserted in Pierre's vein.

Nodding, Athos and Porthos gently placed their hands on D'artagnan's sleek body, ready to keep him down should the pup panic or struggle.

" I take it your dog has no current health problems identified in his last medical?" Lemay inquired as he paused before insertion.

Athos shook his head swiftly, remembering the relief he had felt at finding out that D'artagnan was fully healthy after his altercation with the intruder during the break in.

" Good, now this will pinch and he may react badly but I need you to keep him still for Pierre's sake, no matter what," Lemay informed, parting the hair on a panting D'artagnan's neck.

Athos swallowed hard and locked eyes with Porthos, knowing what would likely occur next.

Ever since D'artagnan had started to live with them they had noticed he had a few quirks which were quiet unusual. For one thing he utterly hated being touched around his neck. They had no idea why their pup was so opposed to it, but ever since Porthos had almost got his hand bitten off when he'd attempted to scratch the area, they'd stayed away from it.

Due to the small size of a dog's veins they knew that the blood would need to be drawn from D'artagnan's jugular vein located along the neck.

Keeping a hold on to D'artagnan Athos prepared himself for the hell that was about to be unleashed.

Lemay waited until D'artagnan had fixed his eyes on his master, obviously wondering why he was being lightly pushed against the table, before quickly and expertly sliding the needle through D'artagnan's skin until blood began to slowly flow through the transfusion tube.

He did not expect having to rear back at the immediate struggle D'artagnan put up, his heart twisting at the small barks being emitted.

Athos saw the moment D'artagnan's eyes locked with his, he saw the second that his pup registered the sudden pain and the wild look that came over his gaze when his neck was pierced.

Athos hated to do it but he instantly leaned his weight on D'artagnan's shoulders, keeping him still as he tried to thrash his way off of the table and out of his grip. Even his heart twisted painfully when D'artagnan whined and barked in pain and surprise, brown gaze locking with his master's in a silent plea for Athos to fix it, to stop what was hurting him.

Porthos cursed loudly whilst trying to keep D'artagnan's hind legs from kicking out at him, long nails scratching at the man's unprotected hands.

" Athos get that dog calm now! Pierre needs that blood and we can't have the tube torn out!" Lemay yelled from where he was trying to extract the bullet with the help of a petrified Dupaine, whilst Aramis held the edges of the wound open.

Swiftly, Athos used his one free hand to stroke D'artagnan's head soothingly.

" D'art," He murmured softly, using the much loved nickname and successfully calling his pup's attention.

" D'art you need to calm down and hold still, the more you move the worse it hurts," Athos implored, scratching his pup behind the ear just where he liked it.

D'artagnan whined softly in response, distress still evident in his big brown eyes.

" I know it hurts, but you'll be okay and it will help Pierre," Athos murmured softly.

At the mention of his fellow shepherd, D'artagnan's ears pricked and his tail wagged slowly, struggles dying down until he lay quietly on the table, eyes locked with his master's.

" Good boy, D'artagnan," Porthos cooed, causing the shepherd's tail to wag yet again in response.

Realising that D'artagnan was soothed by his voice despite barely understanding any of the words, Athos began to whisper softly, talking about absolute nonsense for the next half an hour.

Watching his pup, he saw D'artagnan stare straight back at him, panting quietly as his ears pricked forwards, hanging on every word his master uttered. He saw D'artagnan's pants deepening as time drew on and saw Porthos realizing the same, sharing a concerned glance between them.

Once or twice D'artagnan's eyes closed before they blinked open again at the call of his name.

After a full forty minutes Lemay was wrapping up with Pierre, and leaving Aramis to wind the final bandages and console a clearly relieved Dupaine, he made his way over, noticing the same symptoms as D'artagnan's masters.

Swiftly he tapered off the blood flow in the tubing and slid the needle out slowly, placing a small blue bandage where the needle had been.

D'artagnan put up no fight this time while Athos kept speaking to him and completely ignored Lemay all together, content to lie still and listen.

" Poor thing's exhausted," Porthos commented lowly, releasing his grip now the needle was out and the need for blood was negated.

" Yes, the recommended time for blood donorship is only half an hour and we exceeded that time. Pierre desperately needed the extra blood but I shouldn't have taken so much from D'artagnan, poor pup looks half drained," Lemay replied fondly, causing Athos to break off his litany of speech.

" Will he be alright?" Athos asked worriedly.

" Yes, he will be tired and drained for the next 48 hours and you need to keep him from running around. Given him plenty of water, keep him warm and I'll send home some high calorie dry food with you that he'll need to get his energy back up. You can take him home and I'll make sure when Aramis joins you he has the food with him," Lemay explained, patting D'artagnan's soft fur as he did so.

With a relived nod Athos tapped the table, signaling for D'artagnan to stand.

With a small grunt D'artagnan attempted to stand, legs shaking with strain until he whined unhappily and flopped back down to the table.

Smirking fondly, Athos turned to address his friend.

" Porthos, if you wouldn't mind starting the car it seems our pup needs a bit of a hand getting home," Athos murmured, chuckling softly along with Porthos.

Porthos nodded to Lemay and jogged down the hallway, keys jangling in his tanned hands.

D'artagnan gazed up at his master, Athos imagined his current expression was some what of a canine pout.

" Alright, D'art you win," Athos murmured fondly.

Bending his knees he lifted D'artagnan in to his arms, wincing at the weight of his growing dog and the awkwardness of arranging D'artagnan's long legs until he could be transported out to the car.

His dog did not seem to mind, resting his muzzle on his master's shoulder and blinking tiredly, a small contented huff passing his dark lips.

Rolling his eyes at his obnoxious pet, Athos carted him through the garrison towards the car, ignoring the chuckles and smiles of his fellow musketeers who watched the leave.

The moment D'artagnan was settled in the car he was asleep, curling up on the back seat with his head rested on Athos's thighs. He had attempted to place D'artagnan in the back seat and move to sit in front with Porthos but the look of betrayal the pup cast him had negated that idea immediately.

He knew D'artagnan had to be confused as to how he had been forced to lie still on a table while they drained his blood and left him weak and unable to walk without falling. Hopefully a situation such as this would never be repeated again. His pup was deeply asleep, not twitching like he usually did when he dozed in the sun or more likely when he took up more than his fair share of the bed. No, instead his pup lay motionless, breathing deeply through his nose and leaving Athos to watch the building pass by.

Porthos constantly checking on them in the rear view mirror grated on Athos' nerves since he knew his friend was treating Athos' current situation as a joke. Porthos was constantly amused by the way D'artagnan had Athos catering to his beck and call.

Getting inside was another matter entirely. D'artagnan refused to wake up and walk inside on his own so Athos yet again had to act as his pup's chauffeur and carry his sleeping form in to their living room, where he sat the pup down on his nest of blankets at the foot of the couch.

Remembering Lemay's orders Athos lay a spare blanket over the sleeping shepherd and went to fetch D'artagnan's water bowl. Lemay had told him to keep his dog warm and give D'artagnan plenty of water.

The trouble was getting D'artagnan to wake up enough to actually drink the water.

Calling his name had no effect and in the end Athos had to resort to tapping D'artagnan's muzzle.

Two bleary brown eyes slowly opened to blink up at his master tiredly as D'artagnan greeted his master with a small lick to the hand.

Presenting the water bowl he tipped it so that his shepherd would barely have to lift his head to get at the water.

" Come now, D'artagnan, you must drink this before I let you sleep again. Doctor's orders," Athos muttered as D'artagnan turned his head away from the water.

Slowly coaxing his pup's head back towards the water bowl he was finally rewarded when D'artagnan lapped up the amount left in the bowl.

" Good boy," Athos praised warmly.

D'artagnan settled back with a small sigh when the water was completely gone and pitifully gazed up at his master. Knowing exactly what he wanted Athos let out a small huff of laughter.

" Oh no, just because you're a little tired doesn't mean I'm letting you on to that couch with me," Athos muttered sternly.

A pitiful whine emitted from D'artagnan added to his pitiful visage and Athos sighed, running a hand down his face. He was getting too soft.

" Fine, but do not make a habit of it," He groused.

Leaning down he scooped up his puppy and sat down, nestling the shepherd half on life lap before placing a blanket over them both.

" Don't look so pleased with yourself," Athos muttered as D'artagnan sighed in contentment.

A loud laugh drew him to Porthos' tall form as his fellow musketeer entered with Aramis in tow.

"Ain't that precious," Porthos commented between laughs.

The twin glares aimed at him from both Athos and a bleary eyed D'artagnan had him laughing all the more.


	5. Casualties part one

_**Hi Guys! This is for those of you who follow/read this fan fiction and those who are waiting on updates for my other works. I will be on camp till the end of the week and will not be able to update until Friday night. Sorry! I will endeavor to plan the next part on camp so I can just note it down on Friday.**_

Stretched out on the couch, newspaper in hand and comfortably warm, Porthos couldn't think of a better way to spend his night. The crash of thunder and falling rain had him inwardly smirking.

Aramis and Athos had been ordered out on patrol in the rain whilst Porthos had the night off. Other than feeding D'artagnan he'd been blissfully duty free.

The poor pup would usually be out with Athos on patrol but was still weak as a kitten two days after Pierre's accident and D'artagnan's subsequent blood donorship. Currently the law enforcement dog was cuddled in to one of Athos' old jackets on the other side of the room, fast asleep. He hadn't made a sound all night and Porthos had almost forgotten he was even there.

Flicking the page to the sports section he intently read an article about France's latest win over Portugal in a football match, whilst he had never been a football player himself he still held his country's players in high esteem.

He was startled a moment later by the vibrating of his phone in his pocket, fumbling for it he cursed as it fell to the carpet.

A moment later after glancing at Aramis' caller ID he was pressing it against his ear only to pull it away again as Aramis shouted through the other end.

" Woah, woah, slow down 'mis, I can't understand a word you're saying," Porthos chuckled, thinking the latino man had called to complain about the weather and his boredom.

That was not the case.

" Porthos…" The plea in his friend's voice had Porthos instantly alert and concerned. " It's Athos…he's been shot and he's in emergency, they're doing surgery but Porthos, it looks bad," Aramis stuttered, voice thick with what was undoubtedly suppressed tears.

Instantly Porthos was on his feet and racing for the door, car keys in hand whilst he relayed in to his phone.

" Stay in the waiting room, I'm coming now," Porthos ordered quickly, locking the door swiftly before sprinting down the pavement to their silver car.

" Hurry please…" Aramis whispered on the other end before the phone cut out and Porthos was revving down the street, eyes wide with alarm and panic for his friend.

Nobody thought about the dog he was leaving behind.

Waiting was the hardest part.

Porthos sat with Aramis leaning against him, his emotions having worn him out when Porthos had arrived. He was torn with worry for the friend he held and the friend beyond those cold metal doors.

It had been a routine patrol until a gun shot had shattered their back window, torn through the driver's seat through Athos's chest and out through the front wind screen. Aramis hadn't even seen who'd done it in the dark.

They could only assume it was a red guard.

Moments later Aramis had called the ambulance and they had driven them to the precinct's own medical wing and wheeled him in to surgery. Only after the chaos had Aramis had a chance to call his brother in arms.

The doors swished open three hours after Porthos had arrived and instantly he and Aramis were on their feet and being hailed by a tired looking Dr Lemay.

" Lemay? I thought you were a vet?" Porthos exclaimed in surprise.

" Usually I am but with this bloody rain I've been called in to assist. Athos's surgeon knew of our acquaintance and though it best I delivered the news," Lemay replied, amusement colouring his tone.

Immediately they both froze.

" So it's bad news then," Aramis murmured a few moments later when the silence became stretched.

" No, not at all, in fact Athos has pulled through quite nicely. We expect him to wake some time within the next two days though I recommend one of you is there to smooth over his awakening," Lemay reassured, smiling brightly at them.

Porthos felt as though a great burden was lifted from his shoulders and he sagged with relief.

" Thank goodness, may we see him?" He inquired hopefully.

Lemay nodded encouragingly.

" Of course, come right on through, we've stationed him in room 16," Lemay replied, gesturing to the dividing doors that led to their recovery rooms.

Feeling lighter on their feet, the two worried friends rushed after the friendly doctor, intent on checking Athos's condition themselves.

Throughout the exchange not one thought was given to the puppy who lay at their front door awaiting his master's return.

D'artagnan was cold.

The annoyingly chilly night air flowing under their front door was causing the floorboards he lay on to cool down considerably. Rising unsteadily he managed to drag the jacket he'd been sleeping to his vantage point and lay back down with a contented sigh.

His master was usually home by now, and where was his other master, Porthos? He had been there on the couch one minute and yet when D'artagnan had awoken he was missing. A check of the house had confirmed his suspicions, his masters were nowhere to be found.

Sighing in annoyance, he curled up in front of the door as he usually did when his master was away, hoping that soon they would see fit to return, they'd never been out this long before.

Athos awoke to bright light.

He scrunched his eyes shut again, head fuzzy and thoughts barely tangible. Had he drunken too much? No, ever since D'artagnan had come in to his life he had found less of a need to drink. His memories came back in a rush, and he bolted upright, causing a rough gasp to leave his parched throat.

Instantly he was met with his two best friends worried faces.

" Athos!" Aramis cried and moved to steady him.

" A'Aramis, where am I?" Athos slurred, eyes wide as he gazed around the sterile room.

The last thing he remembered was bantering with Aramis about hat styles before there was the sound of glass shattering and pain had ripped through his chest.

" You're okay, Athos, you've been unconscious for three days my friend. We're at the garrison, do you remember what happened?" Porthos murmured soothingly, supporting the confused man's other side.

Athos blinked for a moment before replying hesitantly.

" I was shot, wasn't I?" Athos asked, his pain dulling to a sharp ache in his midsection.

Aramis' expression was pained when he replied.

" Yes, you were".

Athos's eyes immediately filled with panic a moment later and he gave a rough gasp.  
" If I have been unconscious for three days, then where is D'artagnan?!"


	6. casualties part two

_**Hey guys! Back from camp now and ready to keep writing. Just so that I don't run out of inspiration, if there are any chapter prompts you want to see happen let me know and I'll try to include more of what you guys are looking for! Without further ado, I give you part 2.**_

D'artagnan was tired.

For a long time he had sat on Athos's jacket, dark eyes pinned on the front door as he waited for his master to come home. Had he done something wrong? His master had never been gone for so long, and his other masters had been gone as well. Thankfully the leaking shower had not been fixed yet and the bowl set under it to collect the water had satisfied his thirst.

If only his hunger was so easily dealt with.

Though he knew his masters would be angry with him when they returned he had had no choice but to gnaw a tear in the side of his food bag in order to reach his food.

His masters had not fed him, so he had had to feed himself when the hunger grew too strong to ignore.

Though he ate and drank his fill, and left through the dog door at the back of the house to do his business, he had not slept since his last master had left.

He could feel the lethargy in his limbs when he stood to stretch but that was not to be helped. While his masters were away he had a duty to protect the home, and besides, he would stay awake as long as it took for his beloved masters to come home. Maybe then they would be happy with him.

He had come to the conclusion that it was his fault his masters were gone. He had been weak ever since they had visited the garrison and that awful pain had assaulted his body. His master had been kind to him then, speaking to him and carrying him home, and yet now he had disappeared.

Had D'artagnan been too clingy or annoying when he had been taken home? Had he disobeyed in some way? Had his master finally gotten bored of him and left to find another dog? He had to have done something to cause his new isolation.

He would make it up to his masters, no matter what.

If only they would come home…

With a small sigh of resignation, he sat himself down again on the warm jacket that smelled so wonderfully of his beloved humans and set his gaze on the front door once more.

" If I have been unconscious for three days then where is D'artagnan?"

Silence reigned in the room after Athos' panicked outburst. Aramis and Athos both turned to Porthos, the last one to have been in the company of their dog.

" I-I was so worried Athos, I dropped everything and drove here when I heard the news! He's been all alone," Porthos whispered, eyes filled with guilt and hands balling in to frustrated fists.

Athos immediately made to sit up, causing Aramis to gently push him back against the bed.

" It's okay Athos, D'artagnan is a good dog, he'll be fine," Aramis soothed.

Athos glanced with worried eyes at the sharpshooter, his drug addled mind causing his emotions to show.

" He must be so worried! He won't know what happened to us," Athos murmured, his anxiety over his pup's condition clear in his tone.

" We'll go check on him right now, we'll make sure he's cared for until you can come home, he won't fret," Porthos assured confidently, rising immediately with Aramis to check on their canine partner.

They had arrived home to the saddest sight of their lives.

D'artagnan was curled right behind the door and upon their return he had risen shakily, tail wagging stronger than ever. There had been so much excitement in his stance, and once they'd stepped inside he had instantly looked around for his beloved handler Athos.

Seeing that he was not there had instantly caused D'artagnan's tail to still and he gazed forlornly at the front door as if willing it to reveal the whereabouts of his favourite master.

Casting a guilty glance to Aramis, Porthos dropped down to be eye level with the dejected dog.

" Hey there. I'm so sorry that you were left all alone. Athos is okay, he just needs to be away for a little while longer," Porthos murmured reassuringly, drawing D'artagnan's brown eyes to his own.

The pup gently butted his furry head against Porthos' chest, causing a laugh to bubble forth from both men's throats.

" Yeah I know, I love you too you mutt," Porthos chuckled.

Despite the assurance that at least two of his masters had returned safely, D'artagnan refused to rest until Athos returned, and despite their coaxing he would not leave his spot on top of the jacket at the front door.

Making sure at least one of them was always with him, Aramis and Porthos took turns going to the garrison to check on their wounded comrade.

It was almost time for Athos to return home for bedrest, and they could not be more eager for that day to come.

D'artagnan had now started to refuse the food they presented him and Aramis was incredibly worried.

" He's suffering Porthos, he needs to see Athos," Aramis murmured as the two of them nursed cups of coffee, glancing once in a while to the grieving pup at the door.

Porthos cursed softly, his frustration at the situation had been steadily growing.

" I know that 'mis, but he can't see Athos until he comes home in two days. Unless he gets discharged early I doubt there's much we can do about it," Porthos sighed.

Aramis frowned for a moment as a familiar ringtone filled in the silence. Hitting the answer button he pressed it to his ear with a weary greeting.

" Aramis, it's Lemay, Athos asked me to ring and check on how you all were. Hang on, he wants the phone I'll put him on," Lemay greeted back.

A moment later a tired but familiar voice took up the conversation.

" How is he?"

Aramis and Porthos, who could hear the conversation clearly cast each other a worried glance, debating whether to tell the truth.

" Look Athos, we've tried everything but D'artagnan just isn't coping without you. He doesn't leave the front door, it's like he's waiting for you to come home," Aramis filled in softly.

There was silence for a moment before a string of curses sounded across the other end of the phone.

" Lemay, get me some discharge papers, I'm signing myself out of here," They heard Athos growl.

" Athos, you know that's against your doctor's wishes, you are still healing," Lemay sighed.

Clearly they had had this battle before.

" I can heal just as well at home, besides, it's in D'artagnan's best wishes. Now help me out of this damn bed so my friends can take me home," Athos hissed.

Silence reigned for a moment longer before Lemay's tried voice sounded again.

"Don't bother, I'll drive you home myself. At least then I can set you up with all that you'll need for a better recovery".

Athos voice returned to his mobile, clear and determined. " Tell D'artagnan I'm on my way".

D'artagnan was exhausted.

Long days and nights of waiting for his master were causing every blink to be a monumental task. He could barely keep his eyes open. He vaguely heard his other masters talking in the kitchen but he hardly cared.

While he loved them deeply and would protect them with his life, they were not his Athos.

The sounds of cars pulling up near their home had once caused him great excitement, thinking that maybe his master would be in one of them. Now the sound of a car pulling up outside hardly phased him, to be honest, he was starting to wonder whether his master was ever coming back.

His ears perked up at the sound of the door opening and his gaze sharpened, prepared to receive whoever would enter through the door.

The dying sunlight silhouetted a shadow that could only belong to one man and one man only, Athos.

The next few moments confirmed his theory entirely.

" D'artagnan! I'm home," A warm, familiar voice called out.

Energy seemed to fill every cell in his body and D'artagnan leapt towards his master, an excited bark tearing from his dry throat. Fatigue forgotten he was about to leap at his master with joy in his eyes before smacking clear in to another man who had stepped in front.

Thrown backwards to the floor, D'artagnan whimpered slightly at the rough landing before his confused gaze fixed on a figure who made him snarl deeply.

This new brown haired man was standing in front of an angry Athos, holding a placating hand out towards D'artagnan, regret in his posture.

D'artagnan knew this face, it was the man who had caused his pain and weakness, a 'vet'. And this vet was keeping him from his Athos.

He was about to vent days of built up anger on his target when Athos stepped forward, crouching down with a small groan.

Instantly everything faded away but his concern. His master was in pain. Scampering forward and pausing to make sure that the man would not interfere, he made his way to his master's side, gazing in to familiar blue eyes and licking his master's bearded face in a gesture of comfort and concern.

A deep chuckle from his beloved had his heart swelling with joy, he had been without such sounds for days.

" It's alright D'artagnan. I was wounded and unfortunately that means no tackles for a while. Lemay was just trying to stop you from accidentally hurting me," Athos soothed, scratching behind D'artagnan's ears exactly where he liked.

Leaning in to the touch, D'artagnan rested his head on his master's shoulder with a contented and tired sigh.

He was jostled a moment later as concern blue eyes moved to yet again meet his own.

" Now what's this I hear about you not eating and sleeping properly?" Athos asked in a mock stern tone, his concerned gaze revealing the true nature of his worries.

As if his master's words had reminded his body of its exhaustion D'artagnan sagged where he stood, dopey brown eyes blinking apologetically at his master.

A small laugh had his gaze switching to the concerned brown eyes of the man now called Lemay.

" I think someone needs his bed," Lemay chuckled.

Getting to his feet with Lemay's assistance, Athos beckoned to his pup.

" Come one D'artagnan, I think you and I both need some sleep".

Watching them go with an amused smirk, Lemay suddenly found himself being handed a cup of warm coffee by two very relieved friends.

" Thank you, Lemay, I was worried D'artagnan would just waste away without Athos. We'd be honoured if you'd stay a while, that is, if you aren't busy already," Aramis murmured, smiling warmly at their newest friend.

" Well of course I'll stay. Someone needs to make sure that stubborn partner of yours has all his meds set up and his wound checked. Besides, as soon as they're asleep I'll need to check D'artagnan out as well, make sure he's alright," Lemay replied quickly.

Aramis and Porthos shared a small private smirk.

It seemed that D'artagnan had himself another master.


	7. Milday

For once in his life Athos was looking forward to patrol.

He and D'artagnan would take one car, whilst Porthos and Aramis would take the other, and while the routine of driving around was usually boring Athos couldn't wait to be out again.

After enforced bed rest from Lemay and days of being bored he and D'artagnan were finally allowed out again. Patrol was considered a light enough duty for them, and he knew Lemay and his friends had not so subtly been keeping an eye on him. Even so, upon the sight of his familiar patrol car he couldn't help but smile slightly.

D'artagnan seemed to feel the same and his ears perked up comically at the sight of the familiar blue and white vehicle.

" Dupaine!" Porthos' voice called out happily, breaking Athos out of his reverie.

Halting quickly he noticed that Porthos and Aramis had caught sight of his fellow officer in the canine unit. Although the dusky brown shepherd at his side was a new addition.

" Hello boys, meet my new partner, Constance," Dupaine greeted, gesturing to the female shepherd at his side.

Aramis frowned in concern.

" Pierre?" He inquired, drawing a fond smile from Dupaine.

" He's fine. Unfortunately due to his age and his new limp he's been retired from the force. Pierre is my pet now, and is probably playing around at home with my kids. Constance here is my new partner, her own handler Bonacieux had to go home to England, something about a family issue," Dupaine informed, ruffling Constance's ears.

Constance's light brown eyes were riveted on those of D'artagnan, a slightly disapproving look on her canine face. She was well trained and faced with an excitable and headstrong shepherd like D'artagnan she seemed somewhat put out.

D'artagnan however, was moments away from drooling. Athos had never seen his brown eyes as wide and he had to force himself not to laugh at the dopey expression on his boisterous partner's face.

" I hope that you and Constance enjoy working together, I imagine that we will be assigned on the same missions in the future. While we would love to stay and talk for a while longer we are scheduled on patrol, good evening," Aramis commented apologetically.

Dupaine snorted in amusement. "Better you boys than me," He chuckled before he continued on his way, Constance trotting obediently at his side.

The moment he left Athos, Aramis and Porthos dissolved in to laughter. Even after Constance had left the room D'artagnan's eyes were still riveted on where she had stood moments ago.

" Athos, I think our pup's in love!" Porthos made out between fits of laughter.

As if the laughter broke him from his spell, D'artagnan sent a disgruntled look at the big officer, ears low to his head as if in embarrassment.

Rolling his eyes at his pup's antics, Athos yet again began to make his way to their squad car, intent on getting out to patrol and then getting back home early. He was about to pull open the door when he was stopped by a deep snarl, followed by a loud bark.

Realising that the sound had come from D'artagnan he whirled around, about to see what in the world his puppy was upset about.

D'artagnan was glaring at the squad car, lips pulled back to show off his long white canines, eyes narrowed at their vehicle. Shrugging lightly, he moved to open the door a second time when the deep snarling returned at a louder volume.

This time D'artagnan had his hackles raised, sniffing the air angrily.

" What in the world is wrong with your dog, Athos?" Aramis called as he and Porthos diverted their path to check on their friends.

Athos shrugged slightly, a concerned furrow forming at his brow.

" I don't know. Every time I go to get in the car he does that," Athos muttered, gesturing to D'artagnan's snarling form.

D'artagnan's eyes flickered to them momentarily before he focused his attention back on their car.

" What happens when I try it?" Porthos murmured curiously, stretching out a hand as if to open their car door.

Immediately D'artagnan let out several loud barks, causing Porthos to back away again.

" So it isn't to do with Athos…maybe he smells something?" Aramis suggested somewhat doubtfully.

Athos' eyes narrowed momentarily and he cast a suspicious glance at the car.

" When D'artagnan was given to me the canine unit handler gave me a report on his training, apparently he excelled at dangerous substance detection, specifically bombs," Athos commented warily.

There was silence for a moment in which all three turned their attention to the car.

" You don't think…" Porthos murmured, trailing off when he caught sight of something in the reflection of the door.

Swearing animatedly he moved closer, ignoring D'artagnan's warning barks and peered carefully at the gap between the door handle and the car door, swearing again a moment later.

" There are wires, Athos, someone's wired a trigger to your door handle and D'artagnan must have smelt something. I think you just got us off patrol tonight!"

Tucked up in his bed later that night, exhausted by the hours of question from Treville about what had happened and who would have tried to kill him, Athos couldn't bring himself to be worried about the fact that he had almost died that night.

Most people would be terrified that someone had tried to kill them, Athos felt completely normal and unafraid, though years of being shot at and threatened could explain his current feelings. D'artagnan was curled up beside him, furry head resting on Athos's thighs whilst the rest of his body curled in close to draw on Athos' body head.

The shepherd had undoubtedly saved his life that night. The pup had realized the threat and likely saved Porthos and Aramis as well, for they had been close enough to be hit by the blast as well.

He didn't want to think about what would have happened to his friends and his beloved pup if the bomb had gone off.

Instead of sleeping, used to being up much later than the current time, he found himself scrolling through his emails. A few needed answering but most were merely work notifications and spam from whatever websites Aramis and Porthos had undoubtedly signed him up for.

A small _ding_ heralded a new email to catch his attention and glancing at the unknown sender name he clicked on it.

Immediately a video filled his screen and he found himself frozen, unable to do anything but watch as his screen was filled by the face of his ex wife, Milady.

Glancing around to make sure Porthos and Aramis could not hear he played the video, intent on finding out exactly what his former partner had sent him.

And there she was, looking worn out and unkempt but just as beautiful as he remembered. There was an anxious look in her eyes as she crouched in front of her laptop camera in a dingy apartment.

" Athos, I know you have little reason to trust me but I need your help, the Cardinal is after me. I found out information that I should not have and now he has a warrant out for my capture. If you believe me then tell Treville I will need an extraction, if he agrees then I will email you my location. If you don't believe me then I will prove it to you by letting you in on part of the Cardinal's plans. If you want to see whether I am trustworthy, then you and your friends must go to your canine suppliers, you'll soon see why," She informed, cutting off slightly as the sound of yelling carried over her end of the video, a worried frown beginning to crease her beautiful face.

" I must go, but please check out the suppliers and if you find my lead to yield rewards then you know you can trust me. Please, I need your help and so does D'artagnan, the fate of France may hinge on what I know," She finished before the video went dark.

Athos blinked for a moment, the rapid fire information he had just been given had him out of bed and reaching for his phone, knowing that with the bomb squad still dealing with the cruisers that Treville would be in his office.

" Treville, we have a situation".


	8. Woeful Beginnings

" It looks more run down than I expected," Aramis commented lightly.

Cramped in their bomb free cruiser, they drove down the long gravel drive way to the farm on the outskirts of Paris which supplied their police dogs.

Fences lined the paths and German Shepherds of various ages ran alongside the car playfully while barking in greeting.

As they spied the wooden barn at the end of the drive Porthos slowed the cruiser, dark eyes scanning the yard.

" Intel was right, the handlers are out," He confirmed after his scanning yielded no signs of potential threats.

Athos stepped out of the car, D'artagnan's leash in hand as the shepherd leapt out behind him. The dog looked far from excited to be back home and his ears were shoved back threateningly as he pushed himself against Athos' side.

" I'll scan the house and make sure we're alone, you guys check out the barn, it seems to be where most business takes place," Aramis suggested, pulling out his gun from its holster.

Nodding their agreement, Porthos and Athos moved to enter the barn, a reluctant D'artagnan following in their wake.

The barn was dark, with rotting wood giving off a clogging odor and causing D'artagnan to sneeze loudly. Pulling the light switch, Athos squinted slightly as bright light filled the area and momentarily blinded his eyes.

" It seems Labarge has not been taking care of his property as well as he should be. It's almost as if it has been abandoned for some time," Athos muttered as he gazed at the dust swirling through the room with distaste.

He and Porthos began to scope the room whilst D'artagnan roamed around on his long lead, sniffing deeply and glaring at his surroundings with mistrust.

" What exactly are we looking for, Athos?" Porthos inquired a moment later, hand on his gun in case of trouble.

" I don't know. Milady tipped us off at this location. If it was a trap one would assume something would have happened by now, so we must assume that the red guards have something going on here. Maybe Aramis found something incriminating in the house?" Athos answered tersely, glancing at a few old pictures of various dogs that hung on the wall in their dilapidated frames.

The loud splintering of wood and a harsh yelp followed by a violent tug of his lead had Athos immediately letting go in shock.

A moment later he was staring through a sizeable hole in the floor with Porthos at his side, both peering in to the darkness to spy D'artagnan crumpled on the floor of what seemed to be an underground room.

" D'artagnan!" He called out worriedly.

The shepherd got to his feet quickly, shaking himself to be rid of any wood splinters in his dark fur.

Porthos immediately let out a relieved sigh beside him, "he looks okay".

Athos peered in to the low light of the room below and whistled lowly to gain D'artagnan's attention.

" D'artagnan, you must move away from the hole, we're coming down," Athos called once his dog had locked gazes with him in anticipation.

Wagging his tail lightly, D'artagnan trotted further in to the room and away from the hole, leaving room for Athos to jump down, crouching to absorb the force of his landing.

Loud voices told him that Aramis had joined Porthos above and the two would soon be down with him.

Through the low light filtering in to the room he managed to deduce its purpose, and by the looks of things he was glad Milady had tipped them off.

A metal table stood in the centre of the room, old IV stands rusting beside it. Machines covered in dust lined the edges of the space, X-ray machines taking up one corner, whilst old and dusty tools covered the small bench beside their entry point. A closer look revealed a few medicine bottles and strange metal devices lying beside what appeared to be different sized scalpels and arterial clamps.

It was a surgery room by the looks of things, and definitely not legal.

" What is all this stuff doing under the farmhouse of a dog breeder?" Porthos asked from behind him, causing Athos to hide a surprised jump.

Aramis grimaced in the darkness as he too took in the situation of the room.

" Most of the machinery is basic at best, and all these bottles contain out of date anesthetics. Whatever happened here was not safe," he muttered darkly.

Athos cringed at the thoughts of the various uses this room could have before his light eyes became fixed on the one who had made no sound at their surroundings, D'artagnan.

The pup was staring at the room's contents with a nervous look on his face, tail firmly tucked between his hind legs in a classic position of fear.

Whatever D'artagnan knew about their current location was obviously unpleasant.

 _D'artagnan had barely been weaned when their caretaker had taken him from his family. His mother and siblings had all cried out for him but there was little they could do, after all, all pups would eventually go to the training grounds some day. He had seen pups go in to the barn regularly._

 _None of those pups ever returned, though he did smell their scent on the nice man in blue who came to the farm. Maybe the nice man would take him away as well._

 _Held in the rough and slightly painful grip of their caretaker, Labarge, he watched as they entered the barn and descended through a door in the floor to a dark and cold room below._

 _Shivering at the cold he found himself deposited on a frigid metal table._

 _In the low light he watched in confusion as his caretaker moved around the room and wheeled things towards him. He had no idea what was happening but the scent of excitement rolling off his caretaker did not seem right._

" _You should be honored D'artagnan, the French intelligence officers need more canine partners and they want you," His caretaker informed him in his deep but gleeful sounding voice._

 _D'artagnan was getting worried now, he wanted his mother and the warmth of his siblings, not this cold table and his scary caretaker._

 _Whimpering slightly, he hunched down in a crouch to warm himself, brown eyes watching the man warily as he moved slowly towards him, wheeling a trolley beside the table._

" _You may grow to fight for the good of France, but this will ensure you always serve the good of the red guard my little musketeer," Labarge murmured softly._

 _Before D'artagnan could move he found himself shoved on to his belly while rough hands grasped around the back of his neck, parting his fur and pulling at his skin, making him yelp in surprise._

" _Hush little puppy, you'll be perfect soon"._

 _D'artagnan let out a loud cry of pain as the skin on his scruff was ripped open by a cold scalpel and tough hands held it open._

 _Blood running down his back and slicking the table D'artagnan struggled wildly in his captor's hold before his tiny puppy body lost its energy and he found his eyes closing against their will._

 _Before his thought faded away he vowed to himself that if he lived, he would never let anyone ever hurt him or touch his scruff again._

D'artagnan blinked harshly, the terror of his younger years fading away to the sound of his beloved master's voice.

" D'artagnan," Athos called again, concerned gaze prompting D'artagnan to trot over and press in to his side, dark eyes filled with clarity once more.

Athos would protect him.

As a warm and soothing hand patted his head he found himself glad that Labarge was apparently gone.

Pausing in his rhythmic patting, Athos glanced up at a call from Porthos.

" Over under this machine there were multiple X-rays of dogs, puppies by the size of them".

Making his way over with D'artagnan and Aramis they found themselves looking at two X-rays with the same date on them.

" Look at this one, it's a completely healthy looking puppy, but look at the next picture taken later on, there's a sizeable lump attached next to this puppy's spine, buried deep in the muscle. That lump shouldn't be there," Aramis informed, sharp eyes scrutinizing the pictures being held up by Porthos.

Rifling through the rest, Athos spied the exact same lump that Aramis had been talking about.

" They all show that same lump in the later pictures, whatever it is isn't natural," He muttered quietly before placing the pictures down.

Porthos, who had moved to check the bench drawers immediately called for their attention.

He held up an aged notebook, anger burning deeply in his eyes and a swear on his lips.

" The lump is a tracking device capable of shielding itself from most scanning technologies at the garrison! The red guards have been ambushing our missions and escaping our patrols all this time because they know exactly where we'll be. They're tracking our movements through the dogs assigned to every patrol unit," He seethed furiously.

Throwing the book to Aramis, who skim read the page Porthos had open, Athos was given an angry nod.

" He's right. Labarge himself has notes here written by someone detailing how to implant the trackers in to the puppies before they're sent to training. Here's a list of all the dogs ever bred at this farm and it seems the red marks indicate which dogs have the implants," Aramis confirmed whilst Porthos let out a frustrated growl.

" The cardinal has been hurting dogs, Athos, the tiny bit of anaethetic he has stickered here wouldn't have been enough or all those pups, most would have been operated on while they were awake! It's disgusting," Porthos snapped, shaking with his anger as he paced the room.

Athos immediately held up a warning hand.

" Porthos calm down, we need to think clearly about this. If the dogs are compromised then we need to check the list to identify the dogs at the garrison who can be tracked," Athos calmed, mind racing with the possibilities the tracking devices must have been giving to the cardinal.

So many injuries could have been avoided. Thank the heavens Milady had tipped them off.

A moment later a ragged gasp had his thoughts snapping back to a furious but worried Aramis.

" Athos…D'artagnan is on the list. He has the implant".

Three sets of eyes immediately diverted to D'artagnan who gazed up at them uncomprehendingly, big eyes curious as to what they were talking about. Athos felt his blood boil with anger at the thought of Labarge having corrupted his pup, whilst his fist clenched around he navy blue lead he held.

A loud creak from above a slight trickle of dust from the roof had them freezing as footsteps could be heard making their way in to the barn.

" If he can be tracked, then the red guards know we're here," Porthos whispered urgently.

The three of them quietly slid out their rifles, long years of training making them alert and ready to act. Athos unclipped D'artagnan's lead only to receive a small shove from his canine partner.

D'artagnan pointed his nose towards a shadowed section of the room behind where they'd crashed in.

Using his gun sights to get a clearer look at what had caught his pup's attention he found what D'artagnan was indicating.

It was a door in the wall likely leading to a real entry or exit point, D'artagnan had apparently smelt the scents of the outside world coming from under the door.

He quietly tapped Porthos and Aramis on the shoulder, indicating the exit they'd found as the footsteps above grew louder and larger in number.

Stalking silently across the room and avoiding light at all possible they managed to open the door a crack, revealing that it lead out of the back of the barn and had them about a hundred meters from their cruiser.

Cautiously stepping out they found themselves ducking down as a loud voice caught their attention.

" They're outside! The musketeers are out here!"

A sharp glance revealed a sentry posted outside the barn who was swiftly shot by Aramis. A moment later they were running full pelt at their cruiser whose bullet proof windows would give them a small amount of protection.

Flinging open the doors and leaping in as red guards poured out of the barn in pursuit, Porthos quickly started the car with a loud squeal of tires.

Taking off around the side of the barn put them in the firing line of the exiting guards and Athos ducked down in the back seat, pulling D'artagnan to do the same as Porthos wrenched the wheel harshly.

Skidding down the driveway Athos and Aramis whipped out their guns, rolling down the windows to return fire at their pursuers.

" Drive faster Porthos, by the time they get to their vehicles we should be far enough a way," Athos yelled.

D'artagnan barked excitedly at the noise going on, ears perked at the sound of gunfire.

Athos let out a yell of annoyance as a glancing shot skimmed across his forearm leaving a trail of fiery pain in its wake.

" Athos!" Aramis cried out at the same time as D'artagnan's loud barking.

" I'm alright, it barely got me," Athos informed as he ducked back inside, long hair whipping round his face as Porthos yet again skidded around a turn.

" Porthos, get us back to the garrison, Treville has to know what's going on and we need to get D'artagnan to doctor Lemay, maybe he can figure out a way to get these implants out of our dogs!"


	9. Deactivated

Treville's office was crowded on a good day, but with his top response team, a large canine, a worried vet and several tech experts all crowded in to one space crowded took on a new meaning.

" Lemay, can the trackers be removed from our canine operatives?" Treville asked as he scanned the list of implanted dogs.

" The trackers could easily be taken out in a surgical procedure but that would take some time with the amount of dogs currently compromised. Add to that the problem that I can't get started right away without initial X-rays and a ban on food and water hours before the surgery takes place. The only way I could get started now is if I didn't use anesthetics and that is classed under cruelty to animals, in good conscience I can't make that choice sir," Lemay explained worriedly, dragging a hand through his dark hair.

Athos, who was leaning against a filing cabinet with D'artagnan pressing close, shuddered at the thought of D'artagnan being operated on while he was awake. Even if Treville forced Lemay to go ahead, Athos wouldn't let D'artagnan go through that.

Treville considered the issue for a moment, weathered face pressed in to a frown, before turning to face the nervous looking tech experts in the corner.

" I hope you gentlemen have come up with a better solution," He growled, prompting a young blonde agent to step forward.

The young man wrung his hands together nervously, obviously not used to being put on the spot before he spoke up.

" We have our best men finishing up a project that was already underway, whereby tiny robotic nanites would be ejected in to the air to monitor frequencies or attack enemy systems. Recalibrated, they could be ingested in to the dog's system and would eventually be absorbed in to the muscle layer to attack the tracker. If we have the go ahead orders then we'll get the hackers to recode them. It should only take a few minutes to have them ready to distribute," The young man explained, eyes darting around nervously.

Treville sat up straighter, interest gleaming in his light eyes.

" Alright, get your men on to it," He ordered.

The young man's companions immediately left the room whilst he stayed to wait for any further questions.

" You said ingested in to the system, how would we get the dogs to ingest them?" Aramis inquired, glancing down at D'artagnan as he did so.

Lemay piped up at this, looking immensely relieved at the new solution.

" When dogs are to take medicine we generally place it mixed in with their food. That should allow the dogs to ingest them without too much fuss," Lemay suggested.

Athos grimaced slightly at the thought of hiding tiny robotic nanites in his pup's food, somehow it made him feel slightly guilty for tricking his pup like that. There was one worry on his mind however.

" Will the dogs experience any side effects?" He inquired.

The young tech's face screwed up in thought before smoothing over again.

" They may feel tired since their systems will be hard at work during the process but they won't feel anything, Athos," He reassured.

Relieved, Athos resumed his rhythmic patting of D'artagnan's soft fur, causing a small sigh of pleasure from the pup.

Porthos pushed off from the wall he leant against to better address the room.

" Now that's take care of we have another matter to discuss. What about Milady? Her info was vital and she's kept her word so far. Will she be rescued?" He inquired.

Treville paused at that, apparently contemplating the pros and cons of dealing with the treacherous woman before his eyes met Athos' and he saw the small spark of hope buried in his gaze. Knowing full well the younger agent's past he sighed softly.

" Yes, we'll send a response team to her coordinates and we'll bring her to your house, the safety measures you have in place will allow her to lay low while the Cardinal looks for her. He's already broken in to your house once, he hopefully won't think to look there again," Treville relented. " I want you gentlemen to collect the nanites from the tech office and head home, you'll need to be there when she arrives and the sooner D'artagnan is tracker free the better".

D'artagnan was not happy.

Still shaken slightly with memories of his childhood on the farm, and tired from a long day he found himself desperately hungry. After having drunken a large amount of water to try and bade off his growing hunger he found himself looking pleadingly up at his master in the hopes he would take pity on him.

" I know it's dinner time D'artagnan, Porthos and Aramis are getting your food now just hold on a while longer," Athos murmured when he caught the pleading look being given his way.

To hopefully stop D'artagnan from realizing that there was something wrong with his food they had done away with his usual eating time and had left him to grow hungry in the hopes that he would eat so quickly in his desperation that he wouldn't notice the nanites mixed in.

Finally, when his growling stomach and pleading looks had gotten too much they'd gone to mix the nanites in, hoping the robotic creations would do their job and free their pup of his cruel tracker.

Athos cringed when D'artagnan perked up excitedly at the sight of Aramis and Porthos coming in with his red food bowl. He felt strangely guilty about deceiving his dog but in the end it was for his own good.

Placing it down on the floor, Porthos retracted his hands quickly to avoid D'artagnan as the pup lunged for his dinner, relief obvious on his furry black and tan face.

" Well he hasn't noticed yet, looks like it worked," Aramis commented, amused at the sight of his pup's over eager eating.

When D'artagnan was finished, looking much happier and ready for a nice night in with his masters, Porthos bent to look in the shepherd's bowl.

" Yep, he ate 'em all, didn't even notice," Porthos assured, glancing at D'artagnan as the pup circled around thrice before plopping down on top of the old jacket he'd now claimed as his new sleeping spot.

Athos grimaced slightly at the thought of the small robots in his pup's system. No matter the reassurances he had been given that D'artagnan would feel no pain or discomfort, he mentally prepared himself for the drowsy side effect he'd been warned about. Whenever D'artagnan was tired he became clingy and would hardly move from their sides, content to be as close as possible to his three favorite people in the world.

Having settled themselves down to watch a football match on the couch, D'artagnan spread out over their feet like a furry blanket, they found themselves startled two hours later by a soft knock to their front door.

Hand on his gun and followed closely by a now awake, albeit drowsy D'artagnan, Athos made his way to the door whilst Aramis and Porthos hid around the corner, guns in hand in case of danger.

Peering through the keyhole with caution he quickly gave D'artagnan a pat on the head, signaling to him that whoever was outside was a friend and not someone to be tackled mercilessly by the adolescent canine.

Unlatching the door he found himself facing Milday, who in her green coat with her hair spilling down her shoulders, looked just as he remembered.  
" You kept your side of the bargain I see," She greeted evenly, her keen eyes piercing in to his own.

" So did you, your information was invaluable to the musketeers," He replied calmly.

She snorted slightly, amusement flickering over her features.

" Still using that medieval nickname for yourselves I see".

Stepping inside, she cast her eyes over the tasteful and warm shared house.

" Thank you for letting me stay here, Athos," She murmured.

" We had the room to spare," He replied softly.

As if summoned by his statement, Aramis and Porthos stepped in to the light, guns put away in their holsters and welcoming expressions on their tanned faces.

" You're on our side now?" Porthos asked, dark eyes scanning her for hidden weapons.

She smirked darkly at that, eyes clouding with pain for a brief moment.

" The Cardinal didn't exactly give me a choice. He sent men to murder me,

I figured your side held the better offers, besides, I had to come and see if the rumors were true," She answered, slight bitterness in her tone.

Athos perked up at that.

" Rumors?"

" Yes," She replied, the bitterness replaced by slight amusement. "Rumors that you had taken on a partner. I never thought you were a dog lover," She added, her sharp gaze finally spying D'artagnan who was pressed close to Athos' side.

At the adorable sight of a dopey and tired German Shepherd struggling to stand resolutely at his master's side her gaze softened and she genuinely smiled for a moment, extending a hand towards the shepherd.

Sniffing warily, D'artagnan trotted over to inspect their visitor, knowing from his master's signal that she was not a threat. Licking the out stretched hand in greeting, he scampered closer and sat, peering up at the new woman in his home.

A moment later he was rewarded with a soft hand scratching him behind his ears, just where he liked it, and leaning in to the touch he let out a small bark of appreciation.

" Well, seems D'artagnan likes you already. Welcome to the musketeers Milady De Winter," Porthos chuckled deeply.


End file.
